The Opteron processors for midrange servers coming next week from Advanced Micro Devices will range in speed from 1.4GHz to 1.8GHz, said sources, and AMD is apparently not thinking small on price.
The Opteron 240 will run at 1.4GHz and cost around $340 in volume quantities, said sources, while the Opteron 242 and 244 will run at, respectively, 1.6GHz and 1.8GHz and cost around $800 and $900. Prices could change, sources cautioned, and, historically, wide discrepancies have existed between AMD's posted price and the actual prices that the chips sell for.
While the chip speeds fall within the range of expectations, the pricing underscores the confidence AMD has in the chip's selling power and performance.
At $340, the Opteron 240 will likely compete in price against Intel's 2.8GHz Xeon chip for one- and two-processor servers, although it will run at a far lower clock speed. The 2.8GHz Xeon sells for $455 in volume, while the 2.6GHz Xeon sells for $284 in volume quantities. The Opteron 242 and 244, meanwhile, cost more than any of the Xeons for single- or dual-processor workstations and servers. These chips, however, are less expensive than the Xeon chips for four- and eight-processor servers, which start at above $1,000.
News source: ZDNet News - Opteron prices reflect AMD confidence
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